The Village Inn, 1600 W. Main St., in Milton has re-opened under new owners Stephen and Rhonda Bledsoe. Pictured is the Billie Joe Special hamburger.

Historic Milton diner serving up meals once more

May. 09, 2012 @ 06:15 PM

PAUL SEBERT

A historic diner near downtown Milton, The Village Inn, closed its doors about a year and a half ago following the retirement of longtime owner Janet Wallace.

The restaurant re-opened under new management in March. Now run by Stephen and Rhonda Bledsoe, the little restaurant is now serving homemade meals once again.

"It took us about three weeks to get ready," Rhonda Bledsoe said. "There wasn't much work that needed to be done in the front, but the kitchen had to be done. Stephen had worked at The Fireside Grille in Teays Valley, but once you have had your own restaurant you aren't really satisfied working for someone else. Stephen wanted to do his own thing again and we heard this space was available.

"Everything is made from scratch," she added. "The hamburgers are hand patted. There is nothing going through the door processed. The only frozen thing we use are French fries."

Three items remain from the previous menu.

"The Sooper Dooper, the Billy Joe Special and the steak sandwich that we modeled after the old restaurant, but we kind of did our own thing with the recipe at the same time," Bledsoe said. "We also do daily specials. Our biggest one has been our Friday taco special which are made with shredded beef. ... We have also done a shrimp po'boy sandwich as a special that has been a big hit, and we've had people requesting them. So we might have that be a regular Tuesday thing."

Taco night has been the biggest hit, according to Stephen Bledsoe.

"People come as far away as Huntington, St. Albans and Putnam County for the tacos," he said. "We do it the same way they do it at Tacorias in Mexico and Texas. It's shredded beef that's been highly seasoned. I don't back off on seasonings, I season them the way they do it in the south."

The Village Inn's signature burger is the Billy Joe Special ($5.99) which features two 4-ounce patties served with American cheese on Texas toast with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. Another specialty burger is the Sooper Dooper, ($6.99) an 8-oz. cheeseburger. The diner also offers meat loaf ($7.99), chicken and dumplings ($6.99) and a 10-ounce sirloin steak with grilled onions ($9.99).

The Village Inn is located at 1600 W. Main St., in Milton. It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.